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Garg P, Mendiratta A, Banga A, Bucharles A, Victoria P, Kamaraj B, Qasba RK, Bansal V, Thimmapuram J, Pargament R, Kashyap R. Effect of breathing exercises on blood pressure and heart rate: A systematic review and meta-analysis. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CARDIOLOGY. CARDIOVASCULAR RISK AND PREVENTION 2024; 20:200232. [PMID: 38179185 PMCID: PMC10765252 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcrp.2023.200232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
Background Breathing exercises have been reported to have positive physiological effects on the body. The incidence of hypertension has become a major risk factor for cardiac complications leading to higher morbidity and mortality. Our aim was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to study the effect of breathing exercises on blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR). Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis analyzing randomized clinical trials (RCTs) about the effect of breathing exercises on blood pressure was conducted (PROSPERO Registration ID: CRD42022316413). PubMed, ScienceDirect, WebofScience, and Cochrane Library databases were screened for RCTs from January 2017 to September 2022. The main search terms included "breathing exercise", "Pranayam", "Bhramari", "alternate nostril breathing", "deep breathing", "slow breathing", "hypertension", and "high blood pressure". The primary outcome was the value of the systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure after the intervention. The effect on heart rate was also analyzed as a secondary outcome. Results A total of 15 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Breathing exercises have a modest but significant effect on decreasing systolic blood pressure (-7.06 [-10.20, -3.92], P = <0.01) and diastolic blood pressure (-3.43 [-4.89, -1.97], P = <0.01) mm Hg. Additionally, breathing exercises were also observed to cause a significant decrease in the heart rate (-2.41 [-4.53, -0.30], P = 0.03) beats/minute. Conclusion In a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of breathing exercises and its effect on BP and HR, there is a moderate but significant positive effect. The studies are not deprived of bias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piyush Garg
- Medanta-The Medicity, Gurgaon, HR, India
- Global Clinical Scholars Research Trainee, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ayushi Mendiratta
- Global Clinical Scholars Research Trainee, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Parkview Health System, USA
| | - Akshat Banga
- Global Clinical Scholars Research Trainee, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Sawai Man Singh Medical College, Jaipur, RJ, India
| | - Anna Bucharles
- Global Clinical Scholars Research Trainee, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Universidade Positivo, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Piccoli Victoria
- Global Clinical Scholars Research Trainee, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Universidade Positivo, Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Balakrishnan Kamaraj
- Global Clinical Scholars Research Trainee, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Madurai Medical College, Madurai, TN, India
| | - Rakhtan K. Qasba
- Global Clinical Scholars Research Trainee, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Green Life Medical College and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Vikas Bansal
- Global Clinical Scholars Research Trainee, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Critical Care Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | | | | | - Rahul Kashyap
- Global Clinical Scholars Research Trainee, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Critical Care Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
- Medical Director, Research, WellSpan Health, York, PA, USA
- GCSRT, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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